Recently, I had the opportunity to travel to Carpinteria and combine two of my favorite things: chocolate and beer. Over the course of two hours, Jean-Michel (chocolatier/owner of Chocolats du Cali Bressan), Jill (his wife) and I tasted a dozen or so delicious artisan chocolates and paired them with beer. Together we were able to pair six different beers with ten different chocolates! Over the next two weeks I will be posting the results of these delicious and sometimes surprising pairings.
 Click to vist Chocolats du CaliBressan. |  Jean-Michel and Jill. |
Chocolate description: Buddha Beauty
Salted caramel in a dark chocolate shell. Lick his belly for good luck!
HopHeadSaid: This "chocolate" is perfect in its simplicity. There are only three flavors, chocolate, caramel and salt. The chocolate shell plays the supporting role, quite literally, as the gooey sweet caramel takes front stage only to be upstaged a moment later by a hint of salt.
Picture and Description courtesy Chocolats du CaliBressan
HopHeadSaid: This "chocolate" is perfect in its simplicity. There are only three flavors, chocolate, caramel and salt. The chocolate shell plays the supporting role, quite literally, as the gooey sweet caramel takes front stage only to be upstaged a moment later by a hint of salt.
Picture and Description courtesy Chocolats du CaliBressan
Beer Style and Description: Levitation
Levitation is the only Stone beer I have ever avoided, until now. What I didn't understand, until after the brewery tour, was that my misgivings about Levitation were the exact reasons why I should try the beer. First, you can be sure that a beer Stone brews is gonna be flavorful, even if it is an amber session beer*. Levitation lives up that! It has as bold a taste as their flagship beer Arrogant Bastard but without the alcohol. Lastly, as a session beer, you know that you will be able to enjoy a Levitation or two with friends with little worry of becoming inebriated. This is why it has become a permanent fixture in my beer cellar.
*A session beer is beer geek terminology for beer that is low in alcohol and can be enjoyed in quantity.
I first had this beer at Stone's World Bistro and Gardens in Escondido, CA. World Bistro and Gardens is a beer geek's Mecca and if you can't get there in person (which you really should do) go there virtually [HERE].
Aromoa: Lots of citrus floral hop aroma with some sweet malt aromas hiding under the hops.
Appearance: Pours beautiful dark amber with red highlights and a frothy light-tan head.
Flavor: Crisp hop flavor and bitterness as well as carbonation are the first things you will notice but they give way quickly to a subtle caramel-like malt sweetness.
Food Pairings: Cheese: sharp (blue, Cheddar), Meet: beef, poultry, seafood, Dessert: salted caramels.
HopHeadSaid: American amber ales are great transitional beers for people moving from maltier beers (Browns or Belgians) to hoppier beers (American Pale ales or IPA’s) as they are usually well balanced but contain lots of hop aromas and hop flavors.
BJCP Style 10B. American Amber Ale
Other Examples: Fat Tire Amber Ale, Stone Levitation Ale, Green Flash Hop Head Red Ale
Serving Temp: 40°- 45°
Glassware: Pint Glass, Mug
Aroma: Moderate hop aroma, generally citrusy, sometimes with a pronounced caramel malty sweetness.
Appearance: Brilliant clarity, unless dry-hopped, amber to copper with off-white head.
Flavor: Malt flavors can be moderate to strong with a caramel sweetness with an assertive hop flavor and bitterness to balance the beer.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with elevated carbonation
*A session beer is beer geek terminology for beer that is low in alcohol and can be enjoyed in quantity.
I first had this beer at Stone's World Bistro and Gardens in Escondido, CA. World Bistro and Gardens is a beer geek's Mecca and if you can't get there in person (which you really should do) go there virtually [HERE].
Aromoa: Lots of citrus floral hop aroma with some sweet malt aromas hiding under the hops.
Appearance: Pours beautiful dark amber with red highlights and a frothy light-tan head.
Flavor: Crisp hop flavor and bitterness as well as carbonation are the first things you will notice but they give way quickly to a subtle caramel-like malt sweetness.
Food Pairings: Cheese: sharp (blue, Cheddar), Meet: beef, poultry, seafood, Dessert: salted caramels.
HopHeadSaid: American amber ales are great transitional beers for people moving from maltier beers (Browns or Belgians) to hoppier beers (American Pale ales or IPA’s) as they are usually well balanced but contain lots of hop aromas and hop flavors.
BJCP Style 10B. American Amber Ale
Other Examples: Fat Tire Amber Ale, Stone Levitation Ale, Green Flash Hop Head Red Ale
Serving Temp: 40°- 45°
Glassware: Pint Glass, Mug
Aroma: Moderate hop aroma, generally citrusy, sometimes with a pronounced caramel malty sweetness.
Appearance: Brilliant clarity, unless dry-hopped, amber to copper with off-white head.
Flavor: Malt flavors can be moderate to strong with a caramel sweetness with an assertive hop flavor and bitterness to balance the beer.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with elevated carbonation
This pairing works because:
1. Levitation is an assertive beer both in hops and carbonation. The gooey caramel coats the inside of your mouth, not to mention fingers, and so the beer's initial hop bitterness and carbonic bite are diminished leaving only the sweet caramel-like flavor of the beer to resonate with Buddha's salted caramel.
2. The carbonation and alcohol, albeit at low levels, do their work up front with this pairing. Usually the carbonation and alcohol clean up after the the initial flavors come together. In this pairing the carbonation and alcohol break up the caramel coating so you can enjoy the beer/caramel combination.
Topics: Food Pairing, Beer Pairing, Chocolate Pairing, Beer and Food, Beer and Chocolate
2. The carbonation and alcohol, albeit at low levels, do their work up front with this pairing. Usually the carbonation and alcohol clean up after the the initial flavors come together. In this pairing the carbonation and alcohol break up the caramel coating so you can enjoy the beer/caramel combination.
Topics: Food Pairing, Beer Pairing, Chocolate Pairing, Beer and Food, Beer and Chocolate
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